"Come, mother. It is not safe here. There is a battle, and I shall not have that bitch get you," announced the iron giant in a booming voice.
The giant made to touch Lupusregina, but she shied away, like she was dodging a lesser human's lecherous advances. "Hey, whoa whoa whoa. Let's not get ahead of ourselves... suu. Who's a mother, or more to the point, who are you?"
"Wahaha! I am your daughter, my good mother! I have returned here to ensure my birth is as foretold, not as any other fate might dictate! Let us away!"
And with a force of will irresistible, the giant grabbed the protesting maid by the waist and hauled her over its shoulder. Surprisingly, Lupusregina could not free herself from the giant's grasp, no matter how much she struggled, kicked, punched, or bit.
"Wait wait wait! Please! Why're we mixing up the order? I may be 'experienced' with stuff, but I'm still a pure maiden! I haven't even had a first kiss yet! Hey, put me down, you!"
Totally ignoring the maid's protests, the giant caught sight of the frightened human with the goblin beside her. "Ah, greetings, General Enri! I shall endeavor to see you later! Perhaps we can share some more of that goblin grog later, eh? Wahaha!"
And with that, the giant sprinted into the forest, her speed belying her mass, and the maid she carried. Lupusregina's screams echoed for a long time.
The assignment here at E-Rantel was boring, though it wasn't like she disliked it. This was a necessary duty imposed on her by the Supreme Being, whose might and intellect were vaster than anyone's. That included the puny humans inhabiting this city, separate or combined.
Still, it wasn't like she was completely alone. Periodic reports from Nazarick came, and after checking to make sure there was no one eavesdropping, she'd also give her own status report, ostensibly in her role as the "Beautiful Princess" Nabe. In addition, no lower life form ever came up to the room to bother her (or Momon-sama, more likely), so that was a bonus.
As her sister would say, "It's a job".
It was time. She used the [Rabbit Ears], then accepted the [Message] that came through.
"Yes, Albedo-sama, it is I, Narberal Gamma." She frowned, when she didn't recognize the presence on the other side of the spell.
"It's me, Narberal," said the voice of her sister, Yuri Alpha.
"Ah, sister. I'm sorry for not recognizing you," she said. "What has happened to Albedo-sama?"
"She is... indisposed. Much has happened in Nazarick this past hour, sister. For the moment, I shall be receiving your reports."
"What's going on?" asked Narberal, confused.
"... It's a long story. It all began when-actually, it seems this might have to wait. My apologies, sister. There seems to be another-"
"Another? Sister?" But the [Message] had already ended.
"Wahaha! Here you go, mother! Please take care, and don't get caught in the battle!"
Like a limp doll, Lupusregina Beta was heaved onto the ground. She coughed up earth and leaves. "Hey, explain what's going on, you stupid brat!" she cried, rubbing dirt from her eyes. But the iron giant was already leaping away.
"Shit," she muttered, rubbing her head, her eyes narrowed. "That guy was lucky I'm in a good mood-" Then she realized who was standing right behind her.
"M-my apologies, Demiurge-sama. Mare-sama." She stood hastily, bowing as deep as she can to the two figures.
"H-hello..." said the Sixth Floor Guardian.
"A good day, Lupusregina," Demiurge said smoothly. "You were properly introduced to your daughter, I take it?" Lupusregina blinked.
"Haaah? My daughter? M-my apologies, Demiurge-sama, but are you okay? Did you eat something bad?"
Too above reacting to such blatant disrespect (and knowing that it was just the Creators' will that made her that way), the sharply dressed demon said, "Yes. Yours and Ainz-sama's."
"Ainz-sama's!?"
"This comes from Ainz-sama himself. Apparently, that lovely young lady is one of... two who can claim to be the children of our lord. They have come from some unfathomable future through unknown means."
The maid's jaw dropped. She looked from Demiurge, to Mare, to the guards standing right behind them. None of them reacted, or gave away anything other than their usual expression.
"I-it surprised me too," Mare said sheepishly. "But, if it is Ainz-sama's word, then I fully believe it."
"A-Ainz-sama said it?" Lupusregina rubbed her chin, still trying to wrap her head around the notion. "If that is so, then I-I guess I can accept..." To the NPCs of Nazarick, who were all loyal to the Supreme Beings, their words were more than sacrosanct law: they decreed reality itself, like the will of the gods.
And yet Lupusregina still held some doubts. "A-and she's... mine? And Ainz-sama's...?" How could that happen, was the unspoken word.
Demiurge shrugged, his eyes on the flashes of battle in the forest before him. "I have not yet ascertained an answer. As I have only just been assigned to observe their actions, I could not begin my interrogation-or, well, that might be too much. A conversation, then. Perhaps later, Ainz-sama may ask the methods from those girls."
"E-ehhh, and no matter what I say or how I look, Lupus-chan's definitely still a virgin you know?" she said, rubbing her flushed cheeks. "Still, it is an honor to be chosen by Ainz-sama... ah, but would that make me a virgin mother... ahaha..."
"Only those two have the knowledge for potentially overcoming our current difficulties. We must know what kind of methods their mothers in the future used!"
"U-um, sorry," Mare stuttered. "But what are these 'methods'?"
"The methods for creating a child," said Demiurge.
Mare's eyes lit up. "I-I see! And how does that normally happen?"
A long, tense moment followed, the silence only interrupted by the occasional sound of thunder from the battle before them. Mare looked between Demiurge and Lupusregina, his eyes confused.
"Ah, it appears I must relocate," Demiurge announced smoothly, taking one step forward. "They seem to have moved somewhere."
A hand grabbed the sleeve of his coat.
"E-ehhh, where are you going, Demiurge-sama? I must escort you!" said Lupusregina, a fake smile plastered firmly to her face.
Demiurge gently shook himself free. He adjusted his suit. "No, no, this assignment was given to me by Ainz-sama himself. I must move to a better vantage point to better observe his daughters."
A light bulb seemed to activate above the maid's head. "Ah, then I'll go back to Carne Village then... That is my assignment..." Then, before she could leap away, a small hand grabbed her by her arm. The hand belonged to a determined-looking Mare.
"P-please tell me, Lupusregina," said the small, girlish boy. When Lupusregina next saw, Demiurge-sama was already a hundred feet away, escorted by his guards. She growled deep in her throat, but could not free herself from the Guardian's iron grip. She stared into eyes glittering with a strange kind of determination.
"I need to know," Mare insisted. "How may one create a child with Ainz-sama?"
Frankly speaking, this was getting ridiculous.
Yet another one of the so-called spawns from the future had arrived. She had been personally escorted by Yuri to Ainz-sama's chambers. The Master confirmed their claim, after which they were shooed away, Ainz ordering Yuri to "keep this one occupied".
Thankfully, the robe-wearing blonde was fairly well-mannered and polite. She answered questions readily, and behaved herself around the other denizens, who were naturally wary around the intruder. Faced with little other recourse, Yuri opted to invite her to tea.
"Ahhh, this does bring me back, Auntie!" Yuri's eyebrow twitched, but she let it be. The girl sipped the proffered tea, and made a satisfied expression. "This taste is very nostalgic."
The more Yuri observed of the girl, the more she could see the resemblance. Or something. Surely Solution Epsilon had never smiled as genuinely as this one had, especially with something as mundane as tea.
"Mmm... is this cake?" the girl poked at the food on her plate with her knife.
"Yes... is it not to your liking?"
"Oh, I'm sure it is very delicious," the girl said brightly. "But I am feeling quite famished. It was quite a journey across the veined, unspeakable body of the Kind One to reach this point on the lesser axes."
"Oh." Yuri suddenly had a stark, sinking feeling. "May I inquire as to your preference?" she asked, hesitantly.
The blonde blushed. "Erm... Ehehe, would there perhaps be a veteran adventurer on the menu? Ah, a newbie could be fine, but they'd dissolve too easily."
Yuri hung her head. Of course.
"You truly are her daughter," she said.
"Eh? Oh, Auntie, how kind of you to say that!" the blonde said, hiding her smile coyly behind her hand.
She only hoped this one would be the last of the "daughters".
"Was it really an emergency?" asked the Sous chef. He inclined his bulbous head to the floor, where Eklair Ecklare Eclayer had just waddled in, breathless.
In between pants and gasps, the penguin said, "Yes... But there have been no orders to mobilize... Only to clean. And clean we did, but the rumors I have heard have been greatly disconcerting."
"Oh?" The bartender put down the glass he'd been polishing. He glanced towards the other NPC nearby, head still slumped against the bar.
"Aye. It seems there have been new claimants to the Throne. Arriving, as if by magic, it is said."
"Claimants? How could that be, unless..."
The penguin sniffed. "No matter who it is, they shall still have to contend with I, Eklair Ecklare Eclayer. And... well, please give me something to wet my beak first. I exerted much cleaning and running back here. Then, we can talk more of what I have uncovered." As the penguin waddled onto the barstool, his eye caught sight of someone slumped against the lounge chairs towards the far corner of the room.
On first glance, it looked like the figure of a young woman. Pale-skinned, hair jet black but bleached, lifeless. A strange object, looking like some sort of stringed instrument, was laid across its lap. A small skull, looking like a miniature version of the Master's face, adorned its tip. There was an overall ethereal quality to the stranger, like the image of a moon on the surface of a lake. It was the same feeling when looking at certain undead like Shalltear-sama's vampire brides, or Yuri Alpha of the Pleiades. The woman appeared to be dozing.
His eyebrows rose; he was sure he hadn't seen this one before. "Hey, master, who is that? I've never seen that young lady before," the penguin whispered.
"Ah, she's a new guest-san. Just arrived. For the price of a drink, she wowed us... well, myself and Shalltear-sama over there, with a very stirring love song. As you can see, the results..." the Sous-chef gestured to the quietly sobbing Shalltear, tears literally puddling near her face. "I admit, I too was quite taken. It made me forget that she- that she- hm... I seem to be forgetting something." The Sous-chef cocked his head, confused.
"What veritable skill!" the penguin exclaimed. "Mayhap this worthy siren can sing for me, as well?"
Before the Sous-chef could answer, Shalltear leaped up, wailing something incomprehensible. She banged her hand on the bar. Anyone knowing her strength would have expected it to fold-but the thing was crafted by the Supreme Beings themselves.
But it was loud, which ended up waking the stranger slumped in her chair.
"Encore, encore!" Shalltear shouted. "Another of that soothing ballad for this wounded heart! Please, Beetoven-sama, shower us yet again with your heavenly chimes!"
The woman rubbed her forehead. Her voice was low and husky, like someone who was perpetually sleepy. "Seriously...? Well, alright... It's uh... actually, I've got some new lyrics for the thing, maybe...? I... uh... don't remember... But yeah, the tune should be the same... gimme a sec..." She cleared her throat loudly. She then did a strumming motion on her instrument. The tune instantly sent a shiver down the penguin's spine. It was like anticipating some cataclysmic wave of destruction, when could only watch helplessly before being consumed.
The first tune became many, and soon, a rhythm began to form. Eklair began to sway in his seat, his drink and his thirst momentarily forgotten as the woman began to sing. Her voice was scratchy, but melodic, each sung word spearing the penguin's body with bone-chilling spears.
"Boys... and their toys... nude love.. on a shore distant... I left my heart... in a can o' worms... and when I saw ye... in that instant... er-in that instant... this cold chest... this dead heart... besotted, like fools... and uh... shit, wrong chord... besotted... like a vampire! With no fangs! On a moonless night... life all 'round... helpless, mad... screaming... I seek ya..."
The trio sat or stood, listening in silence, as the stranger continued to sing, time slipping by like sand.
Shurpuff says: Even more!
Also, in response to what I think to be a misunderstanding, this technically isn't a "harem". At least, I didn't intend it to be. As I've tried to convey, these "children" are all from different places and backgrounds.
You want a true harem? Hang on, lemme just dig up this smut I wrote...
P.S. This is kind of a small issue, but I've noticed not a lot of enthusiasm/feedback for either of the stories I've posted. Especially when I take a glance at other works... It's not bad, just kind of disheartening. Anyway, I say this because nothing makes the pimp hand git on writing than cash, or accolades. And I get zero on the former, not a lot in the latter.
Thanks for reading!